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Monday, July 4, 2011

Dogs strut their stuff at Flyball event - Cleveland Plain Dealer

With her tongue panting fast, head spinning and tail twirling, whippet-Border collie mix Jetzy emphatically wanted to run.

Jetzy, though, had to wait as other dogs finished their dashes.

Owner Darlette Cilic had trouble containing her impatient 2-year-old pooch from a false-start violation.

"She gets hyped up and all excited," Cilic said.

Finally, Cilic released Jetzy at the sound of a shrieking whistle, deafening out the sound of barking dogs and chatter among competitors inside the racing arena.

Jetzy blasted off from the starting line, leaped over four separate hurdles and raced down a 51-foot track toward an elevated tennis ball in 3.87 seconds.

The time was one of the fastest during a Flyball competition Saturday at the Erie County Fairgrounds in the multipurpose building.

About 250 dogs and 175 people competed in the event, which is becoming a national sensation, said event organizer Karen Day. Day also participated on the team Fur in a Blur.

"It's the best fun you can have with your dog," Day said. "It's a dog sport, but sort of like drag racing for dogs."

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